Heavy metal thunder

Monday

Jan 21, 2008 at 6:00 AMJan 21, 2008 at 8:15 AM

By Karen Nugent TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

W hile environmental groups, along with the government and some large businesses, continue to successfully push consumers to switch to energy-saving compact fluorescent light bulbs, those bulbs pose a dilemma when it comes to disposal because they contain small amounts of mercury.

In May, a section of a 2006 state law will take effect banning the residential disposal of mercury-containing products, including compact fluorescent bulbs, in regular solid waste, according to Edmund J. Coletta, spokesman for the state Department of Environmental Protection. Commercial users already fall under the state’s Mercury Management Act passed two years ago, he said.

Mr. Coletta said the agency is working with officials in Massachusetts cities and towns, many of which do not have mercury disposal protocols, to create plans. They will be finalized by spring, he said, and will include collection and recycling programs.

The law also bans the sale of mercury-containing thermometers, barometers, some medical devices such as blood pressure cuffs, and other products, beginning May 1.

Mercury, a heavy metal that accumulates in soil, water and air, is a dangerous and potent nervous system toxin that is especially hazardous to children and developing fetuses. Most exposure is through eating contaminated fish, and doctors have been advising pregnant women for years to limit their intake of certain fish. But mercury disseminated into the air from broken light bulbs, thermometers and other items can be inhaled or absorbed through the skin. The incineration of mercury in trash is particularly bad for the environment.

Energy Star, a program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, has come up with a procedure for cleaning up broken compact fluorescent bulbs. John H. Skinner, chief executive officer of the Maryland-based Solid Waste Association of North America, is concerned, however, that intact bulbs thrown into regular trash containers will break in the containers, or in trucks on the way to disposal sites. Workers would be exposed to high levels of mercury, he said. The same problem already exists with the old-style long fluorescent bulbs used in offices and other industries, he said.

Acknowledging that the use of energy-efficient bulbs is less harmful to the environment and releases less mercury into the air than coal combustion, Mr. Skinner said local mercury recycling programs are needed in most states.

Meanwhile, the federal government has passed a law, as part of the new energy bill signed by President Bush in December, that will require phasing out light bulbs that use more than a certain amount of energy — basically incandescent light bulbs — during a three-year period starting in 2012.

The passage of the bill has angered the Libertarian Party.

Andrew R. Davis, party spokesman, said consumers forced to buy energy-saving compact fluorescent bulbs will now have to deal with their disposal and find out how to clean up broken bulbs.

“It’s almost comical,” he said of the new requirement. “But it just increases government interference. The government thought it was doing a good thing for the environment, when it may be worse for the environment. Congress did not give it enough thought.”

Under the bill, by 2012 bulbs that emit less than 60 lumens per watt will be prohibited, meaning bulbs allowed for sale will have to use 25 percent to 30 percent less energy than today’s incandescent bulbs. By 2016, bulbs that emit less than 90 lumens per watt, a much larger percentage, will be prohibited.

Most compact fluorescent bulbs now on the market already meet those standards by a long shot, using 70 percent less energy and lasting six to 10 times longer than incandescent bulbs — about five years on average, according to the EPA. The cost savings is more than $30 for each bulb’s lifespan. The EPA says if every U.S. home replaced just one incandescent bulb with a compact fluorescent bulb, enough energy would be saved to light more than 2.5 million homes for a year, and prevent greenhouse gases equivalent to the emissions of about 800,000 cars.

And the technology is constantly improving as it evolves, according to Steven Rothschild, chief operating officer of Worcester-based bulbs.com, an online light bulb supplier recently named one of Internet Retailer’s Hot 100 best retail Web sites.

“It’s a nascent market,” Mr. Rothschild said.

He contends that the small amount of mercury in compact fluorescent bulbs presents less of an environmental problem than the larger amount of energy from fossil fuels needed for incandescent bulbs. Coal-fired power plants are a big source of mercury emissions, he said.

Bulbs.com offers its customers prepaid boxes and mailing labels for burned out bulbs to be taken to a certified recycling facility. The boxes, Mr. Rothschild said, can hold from 10 to 50 bulbs, depending on size. The company supplies many types of energy-saving fluorescent bulbs, including huge spiral-shaped ones used by churches, hotels, and libraries.

Fall River-based Complete Recycling Solutions offers pickup of bulbs and other mercury containing products, along with packaging for small amounts of recyclables. The company separates and recovers mercury from bulbs, and recycles 100 percent of bulb components.

Large retail businesses such as The Home Depot, Mr. Rothschild said, provide disposal bins for bulbs in some of its stores, and Wal-Mart, which has led the business effort to get consumers to switch to compact fluorescent bulbs, is running a test market in which consumers would pay 50 cents to $1 to dispose of a bulb. The problem is, Mr. Rothschild noted, the new bulbs last so long that burnt-out ones will be few and far between, leaving consumers with, say, one bulb to dispose of at a time.

“They’re not all going to go at once, so what are you going to do? Have one bulb sitting around for years?” he said.

According to statistics from the Association of Lighting and Mercury Recyclers, 70.8 percent of businesses do not recycle mercury-containing lighting products, nor do 98 percent of households. The data was gathered during the last few years, according to lamprecycle.org, a Web site of the National Electrical Manufacturers Association.

The site says the spent bulbs have no intrinsic value, and the recovered mercury has little value, but it is important that mercury not be discarded in landfills, or incinerated.

Mr. Rothschild said manufacturers are coming up with ways to reduce the amount of mercury in the bulbs, although it can’t be entirely eliminated.

Mercury is key to making compact fluorescent light bulbs efficient. Electricity sent through the lamp, which contains mercury vapor and an inert gas such as argon, zaps the mercury, setting off a reaction that creates light. The reaction is more efficient at converting power into light, with less residual heat than a normal incandescent bulb.

Most compact fluorescent bulbs contain about five milligrams of mercury, just enough to cover the tip of a ballpoint pen. By contrast, a mercury thermometer contains 500 milligrams of mercury.

Cost has also been a negative factor for consumers.

A single, screw-in, 13-watt compact fluorescent bulb to replace a 60-watt incandescent bulb costs about $3 at Shaw’s Supermarket — about the same price for a package of four 60-watt Shaw’s brand incandescent bulbs. But, the compact bulb is expected to last five years or more.

On bulbs.com, the price for similar bulbs is $2.49 each, and drops to $1.99 apiece for orders of 50 bulbs or more. Prices for increased wattage, larger bulbs, dimmable bulbs, bulbs with different shapes, and outdoor and bug-repelling bulbs are higher. Bulbs equivalent to a 100-watt incandescent, in a warm white tone, cost $4.79 each. A large, dimmable bulb costs $16.99; and outdoor bulbs range from $8.99 to $15.99 each.

Michael E. Connors, vice president of sales and marketing for bulbs.com, said when compact fluorescent bulbs first hit the shelves in late 1999, they cost a lot more — about $10 each for a screw-in bulb to replace a 75- or 100-watt incandescent bulb. Most clients back then, he said, were hotel operators who wanted to save money on electric bills. The bulbs cost less — about $6 or $7 each — if purchased in large quantities. The 60-watt incandescent equivalents were about the same price early on, Mr. Connors said.

“Demand for 60-watt equivalent compact fluorescent bulbs has been driven as much by residential usage as businesses,” he said.

Within the last year alone, Mr. Rothschild said, compact fluorescent and other technologies — including cold cathode and light-emitting diodes — have improved bulbs, so there is little delay and less flickering when they are turned on. Also, they are now dimmable and emit warmer tones.

“So you don’t look like you’re one-month dead,” Mr. Rothschild said with a laugh, while demonstrating a new light tone against his wrist.

“If you buy the right color and application, it will look incandescent. A shade or globe is needed — you can’t just have a naked bulb — the application is relevant and key,” he said.